UConn Football 2005 Season Outlook

In the mid 1990s when UConn announced its vision of elevating its Division I-AA program up to a Division I-A level, few thought that the first three seasons at the sport’s elite collegiate level would result in the winningest three-year span in the program’s history.

The Huskies’ present run has hardly been restrained by an anticipated adjustment period. Since the 2002 season, UConn has posted a 23-13 record, including a 21-7 mark in its last 28 games.

The Huskies made their bowl game debut last Dec. 27 by routing Mid-American Conference Champion Toledo, 39-10, in the Motor City Bowl.

UConn’s inaugural season in the BIG EAST Conference saw the neophyte Huskies post a steady 3-3 league mark last fall, including a win over eventual BCS participant Pittsburgh in front of a sold out crowd at Rentschler Field and a live prime time national television audience on ESPN2.

The results posted by the team have captivated the community as the Huskies have sold out their new 40,000-seat home field eight times in 13 games played there. All of this for a program that in 2001 had just 5,000 season ticket holders and went 2-9.

A dynamic senior class, led by NFL draftees Alfred Fincher and Dan Orlovsky, led this charge and, along with head coach Randy Edsall, have laid a solid foundation for these results to continue into 2005 and beyond. Although young, the 2005 Huskies will have less experience, bolstered by an infusion of talent from the most highly-touted recruiting classes in the school’s history. The new faces taking to the field for UConn will be more talented at this stage of their careers than the seniors they replace were as they first cracked the Husky lineup. A cohesive veteran coaching staff, which has changed just one full-time member in the past four years, is poised to help the current team elevate its play while reaping the benefits of its good recent recruiting. Facing a schedule that has three bye weeks for both recuperation and added instruction for this young and inexperienced - yet talented - team, a path lays ahead for the Huskies that could leave people talking about the school’s most successful four-year runs ever come December.

“There are a lot of questions that still have to be answered, but we are looking for this team to elevate our program another step in the building process,” Edsall says. “I think we have the ability, work ethic and talent to do that. We will have to be tremendous learners and compete as hard as we can each and every game.

“When you take a look at our team, we really only have a handful seniors. You do have a lot of youth on this team. It’s going to be very important for this team to work hard and understand how much it will take in order to enjoy success. Younger players will have to step up and be leaders. Our seniors will have to be strong and committed to leading this football team, something that is especially true because there are so few of them and we’ll need each one.”

OFFENSE

UConn’s debut season in the BIG EAST Conference was a splashy one on the offensive side of the ball. The Huskies led their new league in both total and scoring offense while ranking second (and 10th nationally) in passing offense. Despite the loss of several key components, including the record smashing Orlovsky, there is plenty of reason to believe that the Huskies will again possess a potent offensive unit in 2005.

Offensively, UConn will be led by one of the best tailback tandems, perhaps in all of college football. In addition to junior Cornell Brockington, by far the BIG EAST leading rusher last fall with 1,218 yards, UConn will gladly welcome back Terry Caulley this fall. Caulley was the nation’s leading rusher through four games in 2003 when he suffered a major knee injury in a game on Sept. 27 at Virginia Tech and has not played since. Along with a promising and powerful redshirt freshman fullback in Lou Allen, the Huskies will have a multitude of viable options in its backfield.

The quarterback position is marked by an open competition between junior Matt Bonislawski and redshirt freshman D.J. Hernandez entering the year. Both are more mobile than Orlovsky was and will upgrade the UConn attack with their ability to scramble, but will have to demonstrate poise and leadership as they gain experience running the offense under game conditions.

UConn’s line is young. Senior Grant Preston will shift from right tackle to left while junior Craig Berry will move outside from right guard to right tackle, giving the Huskies an experienced pair of bookends. New faces will be called upon in the center and guard roles and the newcomers will have to develop rapidly. With this area of need in mind, Edsall juggled his offensive coaching staff, allowing Norries Wilson (centers and guards) and Dave McMichael (tackles) to have more hands-on time with their charges. The changes were beneficial during spring football and will hopefully continue to bolster the team’s offensive line as the season progresses.

Junior Dan Murray is back as the team’s top tight end and his ever-improving blocking ability can also benefit the line. Murray will be a target downfield for UConn, in addition to senior Jason Williams, the team’s top returning receiver. The UConn receiving core will also benefit from the return of junior Brandon Young from an injury and a corps of speedy and athletic newcomers who will look to crack the starting lineup.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Jason Williams enters his senior year as the unquestioned leader of the pack at wide receiver for UConn. In each of the past two seasons, a senior has emerged from a pack of options at wide receiver to help lead the team’s offense (Shaun Feldeisen in 2003 and Keron Henry in 2004) and Williams hopes to be that senior this fall. Blessed with great speed, Williams leads all active Huskies with his 86 career catches for 1154 yards with seven touchdowns, including two of the six longest grabs in UConn lore.

The player slated to start opposite of Williams at the other wide receiver spot is a familiar name, but one not called out at Rentschler Field all of last season. Junior Brandon Young, who averaged 13.4 yards per reception in two promising seasons in Storrs, missed all of the 2004 season recovering from injuries sustained in an automobile accident just prior to the start of fall camp. The fleet-footed Young, who has also served as a kickoff returner at UConn, boasts 50 career catches for 668 yards and six touchdowns in his 21 games played.

Sophomore Brandon McLean is the only other Husky with collegiate experience at wide receiver for UConn. Appearing in all 12 games as a true freshman, McLean made 14 catches for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also returning six punts on special teams.

Next up is a trio of talented wide receivers who have been with the program but have yet to see significant playing time. Redshirt freshmen Nollis Dewar and Ellis Gaulden will take to the field for the first time after strong performances as members of UConn’s scout team throughout the 2004 season. In addition to his work as a receiver, Gaulden demonstrated his athleticism during the spring as an NCAA Regionals qualifier in the high jump. Sophomore Seth Fogarty played sparingly in six games last fall and did not make a catch. In coming freshmen Todd Dorcelus and Travis Watson will also be given a shot to crack the lineup while veteran walk-ons Matt D’Agata, David Sanchez and Aaron Smith will also vie for playing time.

“We have Jason Williams, who we expect to have an outstanding year in this, his fifth season with us,” Edsall says summarizing the position group. “We expect a lot out of Jason in terms of his leadership and his on-field production. We hope Brandon Young returns to the form that we saw him before last year and does an even better job. We’re looking forward to him being back in the mix. Brandon McLean has some playing experience from last year too. Now we have to make sure that those three get better while other guys who are vying for positions make strides so that we can have the six-man rotation that we like to employ. It’s time for Seth Fogarty to come to the forefront as long as he’s been in the program. He needs to take advantage of the opportunity he has and make something for himself. Ellis and Nollis have shown promise and I have seen improvement in their games. Those three, along with Todd Dorcelus and Travis Watson, all have the ability. They just don’t have experience right now.”

In terms of tight ends, junior Dan Murray has consistently improved and grown into the starting role, a post he is expected to maintain this upcoming season. Murray started 11 games last fall and averaged 14.1 yards for his 28 catches, including five touchdowns, while also showing improved blocking ability. Possibly on the verge of a breakout campaign in 2005, Murray capped the 2004 regular season in style with a 135-yard receiving day in a critical BIG EAST win at Rutgers, the first 100-yard receiving effort by a UConn tight end since 1992. Redshirt freshman Steve Brouse, presently listed at 249 pounds, is the leader for the backup role behind Murray as the season approaches. Junior Ziggy Goryn and redshirt freshmen Rob Getek and Matt Gray will also look to make a name for themselves at tight end, a position that has played a key role in the Husky offense the past few seasons, as Edsall likes versatile athletes who can block, catch and run. In 2002, tight end Tommy Collins was the team’s leading receiver while also blocking well and serving as UConn’s long snapper.

OFFENSIVE LINE

While the Huskies will have a pair of veterans playing tackle in senior Grant Preston and junior Craig Berry, one of the areas most heavily hit by graduation losses from 2004 is the offensive line. In Billy Irwin, Ryan Krug and Brian Markowski, the Huskies lost a combined 127 career starts. Focusing on this area during spring practice, assistant coaches Norries Wilson (centers and guards) and Dave McMichael (tackles) each had their non-line coaching duties lessened to allow them more hands-on time with their charges. The increase in direct tutelage worked and the Huskies will hope to see a continuation of this rapid development during the fall in this critical area where the Huskies are talented but very inexperienced.

“The offensive line got better as a group as the spring progressed, but I don’t think we have anything solidified there as we go into the preseason other than Craig Berry and Grant Preston as our two anchors at the tackle positions,” Edsall says.

“We feel good about Berry and Preston as starters at tackle, but we have ongoing competition inside at guard and center. It’s a young line. It improved during spring practice, but we’ve got to get them working together as much as we can and identify the ones who have the want and the will to become adept blockers in both running and passing situations. I’m anxious to see how this plays out during fall camp, but I think that the group will develop nicely.”

The dependable Preston will start at his third different position this upcoming fall as he looks to be the line’s anchor at left tackle. A versatile veteran of 35 career games, all of them starts, Preston started at right guard in 2002 and shifted over to right tackle for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Berry, meanwhile, broke into the starting lineup last fall as a sophomore and immediately filled up any gaps that may have existed at right guard. He is expected to make a smooth transition outside to tackle this year. Redshirt freshman William Beatty is slated to backup Preston while fellow redshirt freshman Matt Wood will look to maintain his top reserve role behind Berry.
Competition will be tough all along the interior of the line as players fight to prove their abilities and worthiness of starting roles.

At left guard, the duel will be between sophomore Brian Kersmanc and junior Matt Applebaum. Kersmanc played in three games last fall and has shown enough promise to hang onto the a starting nod through spring practice. Applebaum moved over from the defensive line where he has played in eight career games. Applebaum hopes he has found a home where he can earn some additional playing time.

The center situation sees two freshman Marylanders battling for the starting role. Redshirt freshman Trey Tonsing is the leader as the team heads into preseason camp. A native of Waldorf, Md. where he attended Westlake High School, Tonsing carried an all-state resume to Storrs and showed great promise both with the scout team last fall, and also in battling past Joe Akers during the spring. Akers, a true freshman from Reisterstown, Md. and Hereford High School is the first consensus three-time all-state pick in Maryland history. Graduating a semester early, Akers arrived in Storrs in January and was installed as the starter at center entering the spring. Tonsing passed him during the spring, but Akers will look to regain the top post when the team gets back on the practice field in August.

At right guard, 291-pound redshirt freshman Immanuel Hutcherson will aim to hold down a starting role after a promising spring. Hutcherson was a class 3A all-state pick at Palatka High School in north Florida and showed why during a steady fall of 2004 working with the Husky scout team. Behind Hutcherson is 305-pound redshirt freshman walk-on Pat Shortell.

Aloys Manga and Donald Thomas are also back in the fray and will battle for playing time along the offensive line. True freshmen Lawrence Green and Mike Hicks will be new faces in the mix come August.

QUARTERBACKS

For the first time since 2001, UConn enters the season without any experienced signal callers. That fall, a Connecticut-bred freshman took charge of the position and went on to a record-breaking career. If another Connecticut-bred freshman, D.J. Hernandez, can do likewise, UConn would be in great shape for 2005 and beyond. First though, Hernandez will have to win what is expected to be a heated competition for the starting job with equally talented, but more experienced, junior Matt Bonislawski. One of only two positions on the offensive side of the ball without a clear-cut starter entering the preseason, the battle for the starting quarterback role will certainly draw plenty of attention.

Bonislawski has seen limited reserve action during the past two seasons with his primary function being the holder for All-BIG EAST kicker Matt Nuzie. An all-conference selection in high school from talent-rich western Pennsylvania, Bonislawski has thrown seven passes in his UConn career and hopes to drastically increase that total in 2005. Hernandez was an all-state performer in football, basketball and baseball for Bristol Central High School and ranked amongst New England’s top 10 prospects when he signed on to join the Huskies. Both quarterbacks will aid the UConn offense with a level of mobility that Orlovsky did not possess, but either one will have to quickly develop as a starting trigger man for the UConn offense.

UConn has a pair of veteran walk-ons behind Bonislawski and Hernandez in Shane Fogarty and Peder von Harten. Neither has played in a game, but both have been in the UConn system for several years and have a good feel for the offense. UConn will also welcome two true freshman quarterbacks to campus this fall in Uniontown, Ohio’s Billy Cundiff and Miami’s Dennis Brown II. Brown was a 6A all-state selection at potent Miami Central High School and was named the MVP of the Dade-Broward All-Star Game. Cundiff was one of the nation’s top quarterback recruits before an ankle injury cut his senior season short. Fully recovered, he is ready to fight for the top job in Storrs. If both are able to redshirt in 2005, they each project to be faces to watch when the curtain rises on spring practice in 2006.

“We have two young men (Bonislawski and Hernandez) with a good and healthy competition between them, Edsall says. “I like what they bring to the table in terms of their ability both as throwers and as athletes. Both of them are hard workers and that will only help them get better as they gain experience. I’m confident that both of them can do the things that we’d like them to do. We have two good freshmen coming in too with Dennis Brown and Billy Cundiff. I think our quarterback position will be different than what it has been before, but I feel good about the people that we have competing for that job.”

RUNNING BACKS

If there is one area that Edsall will not have to worry too much about this preseason, it is at tailback where the Huskies return two juniors who have each rushed for over 1,800 career yards in a UConn uniform. While it will be a tough choice for Edsall to pick a starter, it is one where you can’t go wrong either way.

Terry Caulley was a freshman All-America selection in 2002 after he led all freshman nationally with 1,247 rushing yards. Caulley was the nation’s leading rusher through four games in 2003 when he severely injured his knee in a game at Virginia Tech, and he has not played since. After some juggling amongst Caulley’s backups, Cornell Brockington emerged as the starter, a role he solidified with a dynamic performance in his first career start. On Nov. 1, 2003, he rushed for 186 yards and scored all five of UConn’s touchdowns (four rushing and one receiving) in a win over Western Michigan. Brockington carried that momentum through the 2004 season when he led the BIG EAST with 1,218 rushing yards and was a first-team all-conference pick.

Though they have produced similar results, their styles are different, something that could enable Edsall to use them either situationally or in several different combinations that will keep opponents on edge.

“This is the strength of our offense,” Edsall says. “That leads us to have the ability to be flexible with our personnel in order to take advantage of their talents. It allows the offensive coaches to be more creative finding combinations that take advantage of both of their skills.

“Cornell is more of a slasher while Terry has power, plus great elusiveness. Brock makes people miss in a different way than Terry has to make people miss. Their styles are different but they both have been very productive for us. I think they can be a good one-two punch where you can keep teams off-balance with their different looks. Brock’s a little bit bigger. Terry’s a little bit faster and quicker. They compliment each other well. As we’ve seen here over the past few years, you have to have two backs. You can’t just have one and I think that we have two great ones.”

However, the unit is deeper than just Brockington and Caulley. Sophomore speedster Larry Taylor served as an effective backup to Brockington in 2004 as a true freshman. Taylor showed his brilliance on special teams in particular where he became the second player in school history to ever return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same season.

Promising redshirt freshman Lou Allen is ready to tackle the starting fullback position after having one of the team’s finest spring seasons of any performer. Allen displayed a coveted combination of speed and power that will make him an integral part of the UConn offense and special teams both in 2005 and beyond. Behind Allen at fullback is walk-on Stanley Williams.

There’s more to this unit though than just the players who made this group stand out during the spring season as a pair of talented freshman tailbacks from New Jersey will arrive on campus in August with an eye on playing immediately. Don Brown rushed for over 2,000 yards as a senior and was a second-team all-state pick while Andre Dixon of New Brunswick rushed for over 1,000 yards himself. The Huskies also added a promising fullback with their 2005 recruiting class in All-Long Island pick Anthony Barksdale.

DEFENSE

UConn will welcome back six starters on a defensive unit that led the BIG EAST Conference in both total and passing defense a year ago. A key element of this group is a deep defensive line that returns seven players from last fall’s two-deep, losing only senior Tyler King. The loss of King though is mitigated by the fact that he missed six games with an injury, allowing his understudy, Jason Ward, to gain valuable playing experience.

The linebacking unit will be led by the capable James Hargrave, who has started for each of the past two seasons on the strong side. Two new starters will be needed though to replace seniors Maurice Lloyd and Alfred Fincher who finished third and sixth, respectively, on the UConn career tackle chart. Fincher, a co-captain who was a third round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2005 NFL Draft, will be especially missed for his leadership ability. Thankfully, a group of players had an opportunity to play both steadily on special teams and in relief at linebacker last year, something that should help ease the transition.

UConn’s strong recruiting classes the past few years have left the team with a glut of young and athletic defensive backs. Some have played sparingly at UConn, others not at all, but 2005 is the time for many of them to step up and shine.

While the faces will be new in some spots, the speed will have increased along with the raw natural abilities of the players involved in the battles for playing time. These adept but inexperienced newcomers could hold the key to the Huskies maintaining their position as the top defense in the BIG EAST.

DEFENSIVE LINE

A year ago the talk was of who could step up and replace the three starters lost from the 2003 defensive line, including one of the program’s all-time best ends in Uyi Osunde. The answer? Everyone. A year removed from being full of question marks, UConn’s defensive line is its most experienced unit and a formidable one at that. Five different active Huskies have started a game on the line, four of them having started for at least a half of a 2004 season that saw the Huskies go 8-4 and win the Motor City Bowl. In all, each of the eight members of UConn’s preseason defensive line depth chart have game experience, making it the lone position group on the squad that can make that claim.

“It has paid off for us playing so many people the past couple of years on the defensive line,” Edsall says. “We have a lot of experience coming back. We have many faces who have played for us and played well. We’ve got a lot of depth and competition in that position group and this will allow us to rotate people in-and-out of there to keep everyone fresh during the games.”

Senior Shawn Mayne, who led UConn with 5.5 sacks a year ago will man the starting spot at the “bandit” defensive end, opposite of fellow Canadian Jason Ward. The quick athletic Mayne by far topped all of UConn’s defensive linemen last year with his 41 total tackles, a full 10 ahead of his nearest competitors for the crown. The native of Montreal had 10 tackles for loss last year, caused a fumble, recovered two more, broke up a pair of passes, and created the first safety in Rentschler Field history with a sack against Buffalo. Ward, from St. Hippolyte, Quebec, played in all 12 games, starting the six that Tyler King missed with a broken leg. He was credited with 15 tackles on the year, including two for a loss of yardage.

Looking to press for starting roles at end are sophomores Dan Davis and Harold Stanback. Both got some seasoning in reserve roles last fall, playing in seven and six games, respectively. Davis’ eight tackles included 1.5 sacks while Stanback had one TFL amongst his three total tackles. Sophomore Gary Mack is the most experienced person amongst the remaining ends, a lot that includes redshirt freshman Nate Tucker and incoming freshmen Cody Brown and Kelvin Quarles.

The tackle spots will be manned once again by team co-captain Deon McPhee and Rhema Fuller, both of whom have 12 career starts to their credit. Fuller started every game in 2004 and made 31 tackles, including eight for loss. McPhee started every game except for one and picked up 24 stops on the year, four of them for a loss.

Behind McPhee and Fuller is a capable pair in junior Ray Blagman and sophomore Afa Anoai. Blagman started the lone game that McPhee had to miss in 2004 and played in a total of 10 contests. Anoai had an immediate impact as a true freshman, playing a reserve role in all 12 games, making seven tackles, including two TFLs and 1.5 sacks. The athletic sophomore, whose family has been in the professional wrestling business for decades, hurt his knee during the Motor City Bowl and missed spring drills, but expects to be back at full speed for preseason camp. John Baranowsky moves inside from end and will fight for playing time alongside redshirt freshmen Rob Lunn and Keith Gray, along with true freshmen Brandon Dillon and Andrew Presnell.

LINEBACKERS

The central figures in many defenses are the linebackers and the central figure amongst UConn’s linebackers is senior co-captain James Hargrave. Hargrave is poised to begin his third year as the full-time starter at strongside “Husky” linebacker and boasts 208 career stops, 29.5 of them for a loss, a sum that ranks seventh in school history. He is the team’s leading active tackler and the team’s leading returning tackler after recording 88 in 2004, coupled with a team-best 15 TFLs. For good measure, he was the only Husky to block a kick in 2004 when he swatted away a field goal against Murray State in the season opener. Hargrave is presently slated to be backed up by redshirt freshman Johnathon Smith.

While two of the top linebackers to ever wear the Connecticut blue and white will have to be replaced in departing seniors Alfred Fincher and Maurice Lloyd, several players were able to gain experience in reserve roles last fall and showed the promise to be able to step in and fill those gaps.

Senior Taurien Sowell from Bridgeport will bring a level of experience to the middle linebacker post, where he is the front-runner for the starting job. Sowell has made 34 tackles in 32 career games played, but showed why he might become a fine linebacker in his one career start. At Army on Sept. 6, 2003 he stepped into the lineup due to an injury and stepped up his play, leading UConn in four major categories (14 tackles, 12 solo, three TFLs and three pass break-ups) against the Cadets on the banks of the Hudson River at Michie Stadium. Dueling with Sowell in the middle will be sophomore Julius Williams who was one of the team’s top special teams performers as a true freshman in 2004. The Georgian had seven tackles on the year while playing in all 12 contests.

The weakside will see a tight competition between fellow sophomores Danny Lansanah and Ryan Henegan. Both players had strong springs as neither wanted to yield ground in the chase to the starting position. Lansanah played in 11 games last fall as a redshirt freshman and made 23 tackles, including seven each against Murray State and Army. Henegan saw action in all 12 games a year ago and finished the season with eight tackles.

While five of the six faces on the preseason two-deep have playing experience at UConn, the remaining faces in the group do not. Incoming freshmen Carl Teague and Matt Ashmead are presently slated to work at weakside linebacker while walk-on junior Bernie Huzar will look for a playing role at middle linebacker. Redshirt freshman Robert Theoudele and sophomore walk-on Justin DeRubertis are slated for the reserve roles behind Hargrave and Smith at strongside linebacker.

When we talk about our linebackers, you have to talk about James Hargrave first and foremost,” Edsall says. “He’s been a starter for three years and has been a solid and steady performer for us throughout his career. We expect to see him continue to progress in this, his senior year. Taurien has been in this program for four years and it is time for him to step up and take over. Julius Williams, Henegan, and Lansanah are all close in terms of ability and it will be interesting to see who are the backups and who are the starters as the preseason progresses. I think this group can run and they will hit you. We have the personnel for good things to happen at linebacker. We just have to sort some of it out.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS

With UConn’s recruiting class becoming more athletic the past several years with the rise of the program, the defensive backfield is one area that stands poised to make the greatest gains. The secondary will have some new faces in 2005, but they are well ahead of their 2004 predecessors at the point that those players first cracked the lineup.

“Only because of good competition all around, there are a lot of questions to be answered in our secondary,” Edsall says. “Allan Barnes and Donnell Ford are coming back off of injuries and you also have several developing sophomores and redshirt freshmen thrown into the mix along with some true freshmen who we hope will be impressive in preseason camp. There are people there. It’s just a matter of how it all sorts out in terms of both starting and backup roles that can’t be defined right now.”

A prime example is the three-way race for the starting post at strong safety. Junior Allan Barnes, sophomore Marvin Taylor and fellow sophomore Donnell Ford all stand on equal footing heading into the fall. Barnes has seen action in 17 games for the Huskies, starting six as a cornerback, while also returning kickoffs when called upon. He has 51 career tackles to his credit. Taylor earned his first varsity letter in 2004, playing in all 12 games mainly on special teams, but also as a reserve defensive back. Ford has shown a great amount of promise with the scout team and is poised to make the jump into the regular lineup in 2005 after being hampered by an injury in 2004.

M.J. Estep is back for what could be his second year as UConn’s starting free safety. The junior started all 12 games in 2004 and made 66 tackles, ranking him fourth on the team and first amongst defensive backs. He also played in each of UConn’s 12 games in 2003 and, although he did not start any games, saw the most action of any reserve defensive back by earning the role of the team’s top nickel back. Behind Estep, but ready to keep the pressure on, is Ricky McCollum, a redshirt sophomore who got into the fray during UConn’s final nine games a year ago. Redshirt freshman Dahna Deleston will also fight for a role at free safety in 2005.

Junior Ernest Cole is the veteran expected to start at one cornerback post. The DeMatha Catholic graduate has played in all 24 games during his UConn career with eight starts, racking up 69 tackles in that time. Cole will get a hard challenge for the starting nod from sophomore speedster Tyvon Branch. A national indoors champion in the 60 meters while at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, Branch had a solid true freshman campaign at UConn. Branch returned kickoffs and saw time in the secondary, his fleet feet earning him a start at Georgia Tech, making him the only true freshman to start a game all year for UConn at a regular position. Junior college transfer Darren Nixon will also get a look on Cole’s side of the secondary after a steady first spring with the Huskies.

Redshirt freshman Darius Butler is in line to start opposite Cole as the team’s August camp beckons. Butler is yet another one of UConn’s stable of promising and athletic young defensive backs that Edsall hopes will grow into prominent roles starting this season. Pushing Butler will be Jahi Smith. The junior has appeared in 15 games for UConn. He played steadily in the first five contests a year ago on special teams and as a reserve defensive back before missing the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury suffered against Pittsburgh.

The secondary is also an area where true freshmen cannot be ruled out. Terry Baltimore, Courtney Robinson and Jimmy McClam will lineup at cornerback when they arrive on campus while Kitt Pomells will play strong safety and Glen Mourning will dive into the mix at free safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS

UConn saw some dramatic improvement on special teams in 2004 as the residual effects of its better recruiting classes began to show. Last fall, UConn tripled its punt return average from the 2003 season, seeing an increase from 4.7 yards per return to 13.4. UConn trimmed four yards per return off of its 2003 punt coverage total and saw its success rate on field goal attempts increase from 52-percent to 71-percent. The Huskies will look to continue this improvement in 2005 as the talent pool only gets deeper having had an additional year to recruit as a full-fledged Division I-A program and member of a BCS Conference.

After an inconsistent freshman season and a slow start to his sophomore campaign, Matt Nuzie found his groove and ended the 2004 season as an All-BIG EAST place kicker, at one point hitting on a school-record 10 consecutive field goals. One of those 10 field goals was one of the season’s most critical plays as he hit a then-career long boot of 49 yards as time expired in the first half of UConn’s win over Pittsburgh. Nuzie was named the team’s Special Teams MVP last fall and he will aim to further his development as a junior in 2005. Pushing him is sophomore Tony Ciaravino, the 2003 Lou Groza Award winner on the high school level in Boca Raton. Ciaravino did see action in 2004 when the team looked to convert onside kicks. Walk-on Graig Vicidomino is also back for his third year at UConn.

As the spring practices of 2005 wore on, punting proved to be one of the more heated competitions as junior walk-on Chris Pavasaris and sophomore Shane Hussar dueled daily with Pavasaris edging out Hussar for the starting role as preseason camp begins. Hussar was the starter last fall, but hampered by some minor leg injuries, averaged just 36.9 yards for his 46 punts.

The return game will benefit from having Larry Taylor back in the fold for a second year of returning both kickoffs and punts. In 2004, Taylor joined Nick Giaquinto (1975) as the lone Huskies to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season. Both came at critical junctures. The kickoff return was the opening kickoff of UConn’s win over Temple when an early barrage of scoring kept the Owls out of the contest. It was also believed to be the first kickoff return for a touchdown in school history. Taylor’s punt return TD was a 68-yard scamper in the Motor City Bowl. It put the Huskies up 17-0 in the first quarter over Toledo as the game started to snowball away from the Rockets. Joining Taylor on kickoffs will likely be Tyvon Branch who averaged 20.0 yards on his 10 kickoff returns as a true freshman in 2004. The punt return honors could still be returned to Brandon Young. The junior missed 2004 due to injury, but averaged a steady 6.5 yards per return in that role as a freshman and sophomore. Both the kickoff and punt return roles though will be open for true freshmen competition come August, an opportunity that Taylor took full advantage of a year ago.

An overlooked role in the grand scheme of a football team, until something goes wrong, is the long snapper. The Huskies graduated a four-year starter in that role recently in Jeff Fox. Open auditions went on during spring camp with Rob Lunn and Brian Kersmanc emerging as the preseason favorites. Some true freshmen might also get a chance to earn this role. Matt Bonislawski has held for Nuzie’s kicks for the past year and a half and is ready to continue in that position with Shane Fogarty backing him up.

“We’ve got a very good competition at punter,” Edsall says skimming through his special teams positions. “Coming out of spring, Chris is ahead. As we go into camp, we’ll see which one has been working harder over the summer and if it has paid off. We need to establish which one will be more consistent with their hang time and distance. Matt Nuzie is our kicker. He demonstrated that with his performance in 2004. Now, I think he can take his game to yet another level. I think we’re in good shape with our return game. Larry Taylor is back for kickoffs and I feel very good about him after what he did last fall. Now we just have to find out who his partner will be, whether it’s someone who is already here or a promising true freshman who wants to take that job. I like the choices and options that we’ll have come August and I think this is one area where we can be very productive again. I also feel very good about our punt return situation.”

CONCLUSION

While the Huskies may enter 2005 with a slew of new faces, the athleticism is there. If the Husky coaching staff continues its fine work in developing the talent that has aided the team’s success the past several seasons, there is plenty of cause for optimism in 2005 as well.

The schedule also sets up favorably for the Huskies. Although rigorous, gaps exist for the team to gather itself and not only heal up nagging injuries, but also consistently reassess personnel and tactical matters. After opening with a pair of games on their home field against Buffalo and Liberty, UConn will have gotten its feet wet under game conditions before a tough opening road trip. UConn faces Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Sept. 17, a team that could find itself ranked in the preseason Top 25 and also one that handed UConn losses in both 2002 and 2004. UConn will have a bye week after that contest though before facing Army, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Rutgers as BIG EAST Conference play begins in earnest. UConn gets another bye week after facing that run of four straight games to prepare for a nationally-televised showdown with West Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Morgantown. UConn will have another 10 days off after that game before making their Heinz Field debut as the Huskies face Pittsburgh on Nov. 12. Yet another bye week will follow the Pitt contest before closing the season with home dates against BIG EAST newcomers South Florida and Louisville.

“I like the way our schedule sets up with us having some breaks amidst a long season,” Edsall says. “With our youth it will be advantageous to play a few weeks and then get one off a couple of times in succession. It gives us some time to help us get better. I also like that we take care of our non-conference games first and then play each of our last seven within the BIG EAST. It’s a very good schedule. It’s a tough schedule - maybe our toughest yet with six of the 11 coming against bowl teams from last year (Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Louisville). It will be easy for us to get excited about facing this schedule and, if we take care of what we can control, it’s a schedule that will allow us to be successful.”

The eyes of America will be watching the Huskies as five of these games have already been selected for national telecasts. UConn will face both Syracuse and West Virginia on ESPN2, Louisville on ESPN, Georgia Tech on ESPNU and Army on a yet to be determined member of the ESPN family of networks. More national games could be added as the season progresses, but these five preseason selections means that UConn will have played a minimum of 10 nationally-televised contests during its first two seasons as a BIG EAST Conference member for football.

“We have five national TV games again this year and that’s a credit to the players who have come before here and put this school on the map from a football standpoint,” Edsall says. “This 2005 team is being able to reap some of those benefits, too.”

With a solid core, it is entirely likely that the 2005 Huskies will generate still more benefits for future UConn teams to reap as the program continues to develop.